June 2009

Over time we are developing some elections oriented questions we would ask every candidate for the office of Secretary of the State. This is our current draft of some open-ended, yet sometimes detailed questions, updated as of 12/13/2009.

We intend to provide comprehensive coverage of the 2010 Connecticut Secretary of the State race, highlighting news reports, interviews and issues, yet sticking primarily to comments on relevant to election management and election integrity.

Our bias when it comes to choosing a Secretary of the State, is that election responsibilities are the cart, the horse, and most of the content of the office where a Secretary can make differences, both positive or negative.

Governor Jodi Rell signed the bill for elections to fill Senate vacancies.

Our senators matter. It is worth the estimated $6,000,000 cost of such elections, where our senators make decisions involving billions of dollars and thousands of lives. Such “Special Elections” should not be exempt (as they currently are) from the small cost and huge value of post-election audits. Such elections are not exempt from the risks of error and fraud.

Connecticut takes criticism from Brad Friedman for the slow and unpredictable speed of election enforcement. As those of us who have submitted complaints know, they can take a long time to be completed. But as Brad points out, some are resolved much quicker than others.

For now, we can say that Ahmadinejad seems to have won, one way or another. But winning in a questionable way with the opposition protesting is not a complete win, it may come back and bite sooner or later. Credibility is missing. Without credibility, democracy loses — no matter the intent of the voters — no matter the accuracy of the election.